5 Dec
2003
5 Dec
'03
6:18 p.m.
One thing to consider. If they were making so much
money that it
was a overwelming gouge, other would compete against them. Arcade
machines are not cheap to make. Doing 10K units of a 10 year lifetime
is not a large run. The CPU board is most likely designed in house
because they can not depend on outside vendors to keep an obsolete
design. Any uP design is obsolete within 6 months to a year. They
need a longer product life. Knowing the methods used to create
these arcade machines, I would say that $3K is a little on the
high side but not all that much. One wouldn't stay in business doing
these for anything less then $2.5K. Maybe you know something I don't.
Dwight
I'm not sure that $3k is really that much on the high side. As an example, the board
for SNK Vs. Capcom started out at something like $1600, normal Neo-Geo games start out at
less that $1k, but are only a cartridge, this is the first one that they've released
in a long time that was a Jamma PCB. Also a brand-new cabinet isn't exactly cheap.
Of course the arcade systems based on modern 2D or 3D technology will cost you even more,
the Neo-Geo games are based on mature hardware that's about 12-14 years old.
Still, in the case of Space Invaders, I'm wondering if they don't just have a PC
in there with USB controllers. In that case the only real cost is the cabinet, and they
are gouging.
Zane
--
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| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
| | Classic Computer Collector |
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